Crime Watch

UN-YOGI-LIKE BEHAVIOR A 26-year-old yoga practitioner received a rude surprise at the end of a class recently. Before hitting the mat at a West 77th Street studio last Saturday, she stowed her personal belongings in an unlocked cubby (a normal practice for many yoga studios). By the time she had finished her final downward dog, her purse, containing $40 cash along with her ID and credit cards, was gone. DECADE-LONG DECEPTION Last week, a 73-year-old resident of West 67th Street filed a report of what she believes is an ongoing robbery, spanning almost 10 years. The victim said that she suspects her housekeeper, who has keys and continuous access to the apartment, has been stealing from her over the years, to the tune of $18,265 worth of property in total. An $8,000 opal and diamond ring and a $2,500 necklace were among the missing items. Some of the more odd (and unwieldy) things the woman is accused of taking include a $4,000 coat made from wolf fur, a polka-dot purse, $80 in cash, a pair of boots and a red floral duvet cover with matching pillowcase. MONEY MACHINES Last Saturday morning, an employee of a local restoration company returned to a work site in the rear yard of a West 83rd Street building and discovered a massive theft. An unknown perpetrator had climbed up the scaffolding lining the back of the building and stolen four engines, called hoists, from the structure. Each of the machines is worth $10,000. There were no witnesses or surveillance video available. TEA AND ROBBERY A 41-year-old woman was enjoying a late-afternoon tea at a local café, and had placed her purse on the chair next to her. When she went to leave, however, she noticed that her bag was gone, and she discovered when she called her credit card company that someone had used one of her cards on taxi fare and at a Duane Reade in Jackson Heights, Queens. The purse contained $400 cash as well as her credit cards and ID. Staff at the restaurant said that they only had security cameras on the front door and did not notice anything suspicious. MISSING MACBOOK A 34-year-old Staten Island resident enjoying a getaway in Manhattan found herself the victim of a robbery. She was staying at the Empire Hotel on West 63rd Street, and when she returned to her room last Saturday she discovered that her 15-inch silver MacBook Pro laptop, worth $2,700, was gone. There was no sign of forced entry or video available. PLAYGROUND PROWLER Last Friday, a local man reported that a bag containing clothes, jewelry and other personal items had been lifted from a playground in Riverside Park. The 24-year-old victim said that he left the bag for a short time, and when he went to pick it up, it had vanished. The bag contained a chain and pendant worth $1,000, as well as other men's jewelry, $350 worth of jeans and $350 Dr. Dre Beats headphones.